Low-Carb Pasta Puttanesca

I love the story behind this pasta dish, in that it was a quick, thrown-together dish for the working women in Italy. What was originally something of a cheap dish for the working class has since grown to become one of the countries favorite pasta dishes, and with good reason — not only is it quick to make and cheap, it's also packed full of flavour!

The low-carb recipe below will yield you four serves, but I like to double or triple it as the sauce freezes really well and makes a great mid-week dinner. All you need is some zucchini noodles or shirataki noodles, both of which can be prepared in less than 5 minutes!

For extra protein you can even add some diced chicken breasts, chicken thighs or turkey. The options are endless!

Step-by-step

1. Add the olive oil to a large skillet or saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic and anchovies and cook, stirring, until fragrant (around 1 minute).

   

2. Add the crushed tomatoes, chili flakes, olives and capers and a pinch of salt. Stir to combine.

3. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 20-30 minutes, until the sauce has started to reduce.

   

4. Add basil, taste and season with more salt or extra chilli if preferred.

5. Serve with zucchini noodles (spiralized zucchini) or other low-carb noodles such as shirataki noodles. You can use raw zucchini noodles or briefly cook them on a lightly greased pan for 1 to 3 minutes.

   

6. Drizzle with olive oil, top with parmesan and optionally serve with more basil. Store the sauce in a container in the fridge up to a week, or in the freezer for up to 3 months.

   

Recipe

Low-Carb Pasta Puttanesca

★★★★☆4.5 (15 ratings)

Love pasta? This easy low-carb puttanesca uses zucchini noodles instead of pasta. A simple, delicious and ...

Hands on

10m

Overall

30m

Servings

4

7.1 g

Net carbs

7.8 g

Protein

27.6 g

Fat

318

kcal

1 serving2 servings3 servings4 servings5 servings6 servings7 servings8 servings9 servings10 servings11 servings12 servings16 servings

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Ingredients makes 4 servings

• 2 tbsp ghee or extra virgin avocado oil (30 ml)
• 1 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 anchovy fillets, chopped (16 g/ 0.6 oz)
• 2 cans crushed tomatoes (800 g/ 1.76 lb)
• ¹/₂ tsp chilli flakes
• 16 pitted kalamata olives, halved (48 g/ 1.7 oz)
• 2 tbsp baby capers, drained (17 g/ 0.6 oz)
• sea salt and black pepper, to taste
• 2 tbsp chopped basil, plus more for garnish
• 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil to drizzle (60 ml)
• ¹/₂ cup shaved Parmesan or other Italian-style hard cheese (30 g/ 1.1 oz)
• 3 medium or 4 small zucchini, spiralized (600 g/ 1.3 lb)

Instructions

1. Add the olive oil to a large skillet or saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic and anchovies and cook, stirring, until fragrant (around 1 minute).

2. Add the crushed tomatoes, chili flakes, olives and capers and a pinch of salt. Stir to combine.

3. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 20-30 minutes, until the sauce has started to reduce.

4. Add basil, taste and season with more salt or extra chilli if preferred.

5. Serve with zucchini noodles (spiralized zucchini) or other low-carb noodles such as shirataki noodles. You can use raw zucchini noodles or briefly cook them on a lightly greased pan for 1 to 3 minutes.

6. Drizzle with olive oil, top with parmesan and optionally serve with more basil. Store the sauce in a container in the fridge up to a week, or in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Nutrition per serving

Carbs 9%Protein 10%Fat 81% of calories

Net carbs

7.1 g

Total carbs

13.2 g

Fiber

6.1 g

Sugars

9 g

Protein

7.8 g

Fat

27.6 g

Saturated fat

8.6 g

Calories

318 kcal

Sodium

780 mg · 33.9% RDA

Magnesium

57 mg · 14.3% RDA

Potassium

819 mg · 41% EMR

Nutrition by ingredient

Per serving	Net carbs	Protein	Fat	kcal
Ghee	0 g	0 g	7.5 g	68
Garlic, fresh	0.2 g	0 g	0 g	1
Anchovies (canned anchovy fillets in oil)	0 g	1.2 g	0.4 g	8
Tomatoes, canned (unsweetened)	3.1 g	1.6 g	0.5 g	32
Peppers, chile (chili), flaked and dried, spices	0.2 g	0.1 g	0.1 g	2
Kalamata olives	0 g	0.2 g	3.1 g	31
Capers, canned	0.1 g	0.1 g	0 g	1
Salt, sea salt	0 g	0 g	0 g	0
Pepper, black, spices	0.1 g	0 g	0 g	0
Basil, fresh	0 g	0.1 g	0 g	1
Olive oil, extra virgin	0 g	0 g	13.5 g	119
Parmesan cheese	0.2 g	2.7 g	1.9 g	29
Zucchini (summer squash, courgette)	3.2 g	1.8 g	0.5 g	26
Total	7.1 g	7.8 g	27.6 g	318

• Gluten free
• Egg free
• Nut free
• Pork free
• Avocado free
• Coconut free
• Shellfish free
• Beef free
• Pescatarian